In January, the FCC made public its plans to open a window for the filing of applications for new FM translators in the “reserved band” – between 88.1 and 91.9 – to be operated by licensees of noncommercial stations (see our article here). When the Commission approved this window at its February regular monthly open meeting, it announced that the Media Bureau would consider whether to implement a 10-application limit for any company seeking construction permits in this window, and it would adopt other eligibility criteria. This past week, the Media Bureau issued a Public Notice setting out those eligibility criteria.
In its Public Notice, the Bureau indeed adopted the 10-application limit. While some parties suggested a higher limit – especially for applications outside of major markets – the Bureau concluded that the 10-application limit worked best to avoid speculation in translator permits and concluded that this limit would ensure a manageable number of applications for the Bureau to process. The Bureau also adopted lower caps on any translators to be paired with LPFM stations – adopting a four-application cap on translators for Tribal LPFM applicants and a two-application cap on applications for all other LPFM applicants.
The Bureau also adopted its proposal to limit applicants to licensees/permittees of an existing NCE FM, a noncommercial AM radio broadcast station, or an LPFM station, meaning that non-licensees cannot apply in the window. The Bureau declined to add any other new restrictions on translator applications. Some parties had proposed restrictions based on the number of full-power stations owned by an applicant or based on the applicant’s revenue. The Bureau concluded that none of these proposals advanced the purposes of the upcoming window.
Finally, the Bureau will require a 4-year holding period for any translator granted in this window. That means that any translator must stay associated with the same primary station for at least 4 years from the time that the translator commences operations. The translators cannot be sold during that four year period – except in conjunction with the sale of the primary station.
Now that these rules have been adopted, we would expect that the Bureau will soon announce the dates for the filing window. Applicants should be preparing to file their applications now – determining what frequencies work in the areas that they want to serve and securing appropriate transmitter sites to be proposed in their applications. Start now so that you will be ready to submit your applications when the window opens.